Reviews you can trust.
See why.The Best Countertop Ice Makers
All the ice you could ever want, right on your counter. Too good to be true?
Published Nov. 15, 2022.
Top Picks
What You Need To Know
If you’re not getting enough ice from your freezer ice maker or trays, a countertop ice maker could be a good option. We liked two models that produce hollow, cylindrical, “bullet”-style ice. The IGLOO Premium Self-Cleaning Countertop Ice Maker is our favorite compact model. It’s lightweight and easy to carry thanks to its cooler-style handle, and it was impressively speedy for a smaller model. For those with larger spaces who are interested in quickly making a lot of ice, we suggest the Newair Countertop Ice Maker, which can produce nearly 2 pounds of ice per hour. It was bulky and heavy but simple to use. We also named the pricey GE Profile Opal 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker as our favorite nugget ice maker. It was the fastest and easiest to use of the nugget-style machines.
What You Need to Know
Countertop ice makers are ideal for people whose freezers don’t have built-in ice makers and who aren’t satisfied with the hassle or small capacities of ice trays. They’re also a more portable option for home bars, dorm rooms or studios, and boats or RVs. Many people use countertop models 24/7 to always have ice on hand, while some folks only bring them out for parties or trips and store them when they’re not in use.
To make ice, you fill the reservoirs through openings on the front or at the top of the machines. Some models also use external tanks mounted on their sides. Similar to commercial ice makers or the devices in home freezers, countertop ice makers use a compressor filled with refrigerant to cool metal ice molds and freeze water into one of several cube shapes. The ice drops into collection bins, ready to be scooped out for the next frosty drink. All the machines have sensors that monitor ice levels and restart the machines if the ice gets low. But ice makers aren’t freezers in and of themselves. They’re not built to keep ice cold indefinitely because they’re not circulating frigid air as a freezer does. As unused ice in the bins begins to melt, the water collects under the bins and is recirculated to make more ice.
The machines we tested make three different types of ice. The majority make “bullet” ice, which is cylindrical and hollow with one domed end, just like its namesake. Other models make classic square cubes that you can find at most bars and restaurants. A few machines make “nugget” or “pellet” ice, the wonderfully crunchy, tiny ice cylinders that are popular at soda fountains and some fast food joints. (For more information, see FAQ “How are different ice shapes made?”) We named winners for most of the machine styles we tested, and we found some common factors that you should look for when shopping.&n...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Performance: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Setup and Cleaning: 3 stars out of 3.
This model was efficient for its small size, capable of making just under 1 pound of ice every hour and depositing its first ice batch within 8 minutes of being turned on. Its convenient handle—similar to that of a cooler—combined with its lightweight build made it more portable than any other machine we tested. It did an acceptable job of keeping ice cold, and it recirculated water well to make sure there was always ice on hand. We also liked the distinct difference in ice size options it offered. We were impressed by its simple, clear controls and indicator lights, which allowed us to check its status at a glance. Best of all, it was the only compact model to have an efficient self-cleaning cycle, making routine descalings extremely easy.
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Setup and Cleaning: 2.5 stars out of 3.
Using this spendy model was a luxurious experience. It was among the most efficient models we tested, producing just over 1.5 pounds of crisp, clean-tasting nugget ice per hour. Its thoughtfully designed side tank was easy to install, and its straightforward self-cleaning mode functioned well. We also liked this model’s controls, which employed a few touch-sensitive buttons and LED light bars to clearly communicate the machine’s status and switch between cleaning and production (and operate the ice bin’s light). It was heavy, bulky, and expensive, but it would be a beautiful addition to any nugget-ice aficionado’s home bar. It also connects to Wi-Fi to allow scheduling cycles from a mobile app or a virtual assistant, though we didn’t think this added much value.
Recommended
- Performance: 3 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Setup and Cleaning: 2.5 stars out of 3.
This model was the fastest we tested, making nearly 2 pounds of ice per hour once up and running. Though it was big and heavy, it had convenient handles for transport that made it surprisingly portable and easy to set up. We liked using the simple controls to toggle between ice sizes or turn on this model’s effective self-cleaning function. Its recirculation system worked optimally to collect and refreeze runoff. We just wished its drain plug had a better design; it was awkwardly perched on the side of the machine and we had trouble unscrewing the bolt.
- Performance: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Setup and Cleaning: 2.5 stars out of 3.
This attractive model had the ice-making chops to earn its large footprint. It was fairly fast, cranking out nearly 1.5 pounds of ice per hour once it got up and running, and we were impressed by its perfect nugget-style ice. It was heavy and solid, so unboxing and lifting it was difficult, but setup and cleaning were otherwise straightforward. We liked its drain hoses, which funneled water into the sink without us having to move the machine too much, making occasional cleanings easier. It uses a single touch-screen button and indicator light on its front for most functions, which we found difficult to interpret at times. We also spilled ice out of its front-tilt ice bin every so often when scooping.
- Performance: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 3 stars out of 3.
- Setup and Cleaning: 2.5 stars out of 3.
We were pleased with this model’s large ice bin capacity and consistently shaped nugget ice. Its recirculation system also functioned well, ensuring that we had fresh ice at all hours, and it did a good job at keeping ice cold. It was slightly slower than the other nugget makers but still made more than 1 pound of ice per hour, and we liked its straightforward controls. Its auto-clean function also worked well. But it was among the heavier machines in our lineup, and it was especially cumbersome to unpack and set up due to its unbalanced shape.
Recommended with reservations
- Performance: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Setup and Cleaning: 1.5 stars out of 3.
We especially liked this model’s relatively large ice and speedy production cycles, which made about 1 pound of ice per hour. We also liked its small footprint and simple, straightforward controls. We were frustrated by its lack of an automatic cleaning option, since manually cleaning the hard-to-reach components was tedious and didn’t feel thorough enough. We also found its drain plug especially difficult to remove, a small but important quibble.
- Performance: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Setup and Cleaning: 2.5 stars out of 3.
This simple model was lightweight and portable, and we liked that it had a straightforward control panel and was fairly easy to set up. We also liked that it began making ice fairly quickly, but its total output over time was small, even for a compact machine. Its ice cubes were also consistently smaller and melted quicker than those from the other compact, bullet-style makers we tested. Its self-cleaning cycle was effective, but it took a whopping 30 minutes. The machine also didn't indicate when the cleaning process was complete.
Not Recommended
- Performance: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Setup and Cleaning: 1.5 stars out of 3.
This model produced large batches of ice very slowly, and we wished it would produce smaller batches faster. We had a hard time pouring water into its small reservoir opening and found its poorly placed rear drain plug difficult to use. Its complicated display screen showed a mystifying jumble of numbers and symbols, and we were put off by its lack of an automatic cleaning function. As with the other square ice maker we tested, we had to manually break up the ice after every cycle, meaning we couldn’t just leave the machine alone or it would become increasingly difficult to separate the mass of ice into usable cubes.
- Performance: 2 stars out of 3.
- Ease of Use: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Setup and Cleaning: 1.5 stars out of 3.
This midsize ice maker produced an acceptable amount of ice per hour, but it was slow to get going and difficult to use for a few reasons. We found its controls to be too simple and thus hard to interpret; there was no confirmation that we had successfully toggled between ice sizes. It deposited ice in its collection bin in solid sheets instead of separate cubes, forcing us to hover over it and break up the ice with a scoop as it worked, lest the bin fill up too quickly with an unbreakable stack of ice sheets. We also spilled every time we poured water into the small opening at the top of the reservoir, and the drain plug was in an inconvenient spot at the back of the machine. It didn’t have a self-clean feature, and proper descaling would require complicated disassembly.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them.
Chase Brightwell
Chase is an associate editor for ATK Reviews. He's an epidemiologist-turned-equipment tester and biscuit enthusiast.